Abstract
This study examines how news coverage of terrorist threats affects emotions that then shape support for antiterrorism policies, presidential approval, and attitudes toward Muslims. Using a national sample, news stories were experimentally manipulated to emphasize terrorist threats (high/low) and depictions of U.S. military strength (high/low). Results show that group-based anger-when people thought about themselves as Americans-mediated the relationships between threat coverage and antiterrorism policies, whereas group-based fear did not. On the other hand, group-based fear mediated the relationship between threat coverage and negative attitudes toward Muslims, whereas group-based anger did not. When people thought about themselves as individuals, neither anger nor fear mediated these relationships.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 2535-2555 |
Number of pages | 21 |
Journal | International Journal of Communication |
Volume | 13 |
State | Published - 2019 |
Keywords
- Discrete emotions
- Experiment
- Group emotion
- Media effects
- Social identity
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Communication